The institute unites eight universities and 14 industry partners, forming one of the largest collaborations in the U.S. to enhance space power and propulsion, addressing key national defense and exploration needs.

Spacecraft propulsion currently relies on chemical rockets for high thrust but rapid fuel consumption, or solar-powered electric propulsion, which is fuel-efficient but slow. The new system intends to overcome these limitations by combining a chemical rocket for quick maneuvers with advanced electric propulsion, such as a 100-kilowatt Hall thruster built at U-M, powered by innovative technologies like a nuclear microreactor.

"The space station generates about 100 kilowatts of power, but the solar arrays are the size of a couple of football fields, and this is too large for some of the power-hungry applications that are of interest to the Space Force," said Benjamin Jorns, U-M associate professor of aerospace engineering and institute director.

One research team is working on a nuclear microreactor to provide a sustainable, compact power source for space missions. Other groups are developing systems to convert the reactor's heat into electricity, enabling faster electric propulsion.

Both chemical and electric propulsion systems expel material to generate thrust. Electric engines achieve this by ionizing the propellant and accelerating it with electric fields. The research aims to simplify logistics by developing fuels suitable for both chemical and electric propulsion.

"The Space Force is tasked with securing America's interests in, from and to space," said Joshua Carlson, the Space Force program manager for the initiative. "We're very pleased to work with University of Michigan, and their partners, just like we are for all our other efforts under the USSF University Consortium, as we seek to maintain the Space Force's edge in great power competition."

The institute's multi-faceted approach will integrate academic research with industry innovations. Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. will design a new lightweight microreactor, while U-M engineers develop a heat source to test other components.

Efforts to harness the reactor's energy for electric propulsion include U-M's collaboration with Spark Thermionics on thermionic emission cells, and Antora Energy on thermal photovoltaics. The goal is to generate electricity by exploiting temperature differences in space.

Waste heat management is another challenge. Cornell University, Advanced Cooling Technologies, and Ultramet are developing lightweight panels to dissipate excess heat. The University of Wisconsin, U-M, and Cislunar Industries will optimize power processing modules to meet the demands of electric propulsion systems.

The propulsion project will explore three electric thruster designs: Hall thrusters, magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters, and electron cyclotron resonance thrusters, with contributions from U-M, Princeton University, Champaign Urbana Aerospace, and the University of Washington.

Supporting technologies include a gas generation module for the propellant, being developed by Western Michigan University and Champaign Urbana Aerospace, and a cathode for electric charge neutralization by Colorado State University.

Additionally, U-M and Penn State are advancing a new chemical rocket design, while Benchmark Space Systems contributes an existing commercial propulsion system for testing.

Computer modeling and diagnostic tools for the project will be provided by U-M, Cornell, Colorado State, and the University of Colorado, with Analytical Mechanics Associates evaluating the complete system.

"We are very grateful to the U.S. Space Force and Air Force Research Laboratory for this opportunity. We're excited to get started on this work with this exceptional national team," Jorns said.

Eric Viges will serve as a chief engineer, with various U-M faculty leading subteams. Other university partners include Cornell, Wisconsin, Western Michigan, Colorado State, Penn State, Princeton, Washington, and Colorado.

The advisory board features representatives from Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Westinghouse, and Aerospace Corp.

Related Links
University of Michigan
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com